The era of the telepresence meetings has become better than ever now, and we here at Batipi feel our Vidyo service has progressed that even further. Using state-of-the-art technology, we let you do telepresence meetings in amazing clarity to a point where it feels like everyone is in the room together. And while there may be a new protocol developing in what you wear and how you present yourself, how do you basically set up a room so it's presentable during a video conference meeting?

If it's an important business meeting, you may have to set up your room as meticulously as a director would framing a shot for a movie.

Lighting Considerations

When you're about to have a group video conference, how the room looks will make a huge impression on those viewing you. Private point-to-point video conferencing can sometimes be more casual if you know the other business associate well. But a group video conference for an important business deal has to show an impressive setting. That means gearing up the room with the best possible lighting.

While natural lighting might work in some cases, it's best to close all shades on surrounding windows. This prevents the sun from shining in unexpectedly and overpowering the lighting for the camera. Normal office lighting will keep your lighting consistent so those viewing can see you and your employees clearly at all times.

Consideration of Color on Clothing

With the acceptability of more casual clothing in some video conferences, it's still worth going with business casual to be safe. However, as part of the room setup, you have to pay more attention to the color of your clothes. Overly bright colors might not translate well on the camera. The same goes with camera contrast on deep black and white colors.

It's best to go with colors that are more neutral so they don't look distracting to those viewing you on a monitor.

Dealing with Sounds

Nothing is more annoying during a video conference than a sound in the background that distracts from hearing everyone properly. Make sure there isn't any construction sounds or music playing during your important video conference. Also, ask your employees not to tap their fingers or shuffle papers during the conference that the microphone might pick up.

Presenting Information

During a video conference, you'll likely be presenting materials that show information your business associates want to know. We recommend to use a built-in feature that will share your screen with remote participants, as it is too difficult for remote viewers to see your "in-room" presentation materials. As well, have all the materials ready to present during the meeting so there won't be wasted time finding what you need.

A final part of your setup should involve a plan to move the camera around the room during the meeting to provide variety. Just like in a movie, a video conference can look overly static with the camera staying in one place the entire time.

With these things in mind, visit us or read our blog to see what Vidyo can do in making your video conferences truly satisfying business experiences.

In a rapidly advancing technological age in which we have invented glowing plants, machines that print food, and computer interfaces from the future, one would think that businesses everywhere would be using video conferencing as often as they use a copy machine.

But they haven't.

Oddly enough, people are reluctant about the technology. In his many years of telecommuting, one worker
observed how rare video conferencing had been used, and he lamented how
much more efficient and human his work experience could have been if
businesses were more open to video conferencing. He also noted that 2012
saw 27 million simultaneous video conferencing sessions on
Skype between personal, non-business users. The business world, he felt,
is far behind the rest of society.

A part of the problem is the proliferation of myths about video
conferencing. The following tall tales about the technology need to be
busted in the business community:

1. Videoconferencing is so complex that only a business with an IT staff can manage it.

That might have been true years ago, but not anymore. Recent products
have consolidated tasks and features into all-in-one systems that are
intuitive, user-friendly and do not require a genius to operate or set
up. The technology continues to advance, and every year brings a new
wave of products that become easier to manage. Some of the best
all-in-one systems are the HDTV products that combine everything --
including the computer technology -- into one thin, portable HDTV.

2. Videoconferencing costs too much.

The price gets lower every year. Companies can find high-quality
products that will outfit a room with video conferencing for less than a
grand. In addition, third-party companies
can host your telepresence for an affordable price, which eliminates
the need to purchase expensive in-house assets such as servers.

3. The new equipment has to match the company's old video equipment.

Companies who build conference technology understand that clients
don't want to spend loads of money replacing everything from the ground
up if they don't have to. That's why most newer video conferencing
systems are designed to fit right into older video components that might
already exist in your board room.

With each new year of advancement in conferencing technology, there
are fewer excuses to not move more communications into the video
conferencing arena. The value of real-time face-to-face connections will
quickly become apparent, especially after you see how affordable and
manageable the technology has become.

Learn more about our pricing for hosted telepresence. If your company is new to using this technology, start by enabling a select group of users at your organization. If successful, they will become an invaluable resource to you when introducing the technology to the whole company.

Video calls
are becoming so sophisticated now that the need for physical meetings
in companies has been nearly eliminated from the vocabulary. Here at Batipi,
we offer hosted teleconferencing services that allows you to confer
with anyone around the world thanks to our cloud infrastructure & Vidyo technology. In fact,
you can hold meetings while on the go and teleconference on your
smartphone or tablet in perfect clarity.

But while you're still physically seen through our video call service,
what should you ultimately wear when talking with an important business
associate? And should the setting where you hold your teleconference be
in a conservative location? There might be acceptance now of being seen
in places unimaginable a few years ago.

What Should You Wear During a Video Call?

There may be a tendency to want to dress more casually, depending on
the work environment of a particular company. What happens, though, if
you hold an important business meeting on Vidyo and those associates are
wearing suits? It's probably a good idea to at least dress up a little
so you're not caught wearing t-shirts and shorts during an important
business deal.

Regardless, you should obviously look into the style of that other
company and see what their general clothing choices are before making a
decision.

What's the Best Location for a Video Call?

It might seem incomprehensible that 10% of employees polled in the above Radvision study say that the bathroom is an acceptable place
to be seen during a teleconference. While that might show that the
acceptance of comfort has hit a high point in the video meeting format,
should that really become the standard?

A better setting might be teleconferencing by a pool that was deemed
acceptable by 35% of those studied. In fact, a relaxed pool setting
could possibly help in closing a business deal to show that business
doesn't have to be so buttoned down. The good news about video calls is
any kind of setting can ultimately be altered by merely moving to a
certain location in the room or setting up a particular backdrop.

Even if the bathroom ultimately becomes an acceptable part of video
call protocol, it's unlikely someone will show a certain amenity in that
bathroom as part of their physical background.

Leaving a large footprint wouldn't be a bad thing if you were Robert Wadlow,
the Giant of Illinois. When you're 8' 11.1" tall with a foot that's 17
inches long and a shoe size of 37AA, it's kind of expected. Just ask the world's tallest living man and the man who currently holds the record for having the largest foot. They'll tell you.

But as everyone knows, the footprints humans leave behind and the
ones businesses leave behind are two different things. Both may leave
impressions on the Earth, but only one will vanish without leaving a
trace. The other can leave traces that will last a lifetime. Because of
that, many businesses today are looking for ways they can make their
footprints smaller; and one of the ways they're finding is with video conferencing.

Video conferencing is exactly what it sounds like - holding a
conference via video options with attendees being in various locations
instead of face-to-face in one place. Many businesses are finding that
using this method for some of their meetings not only saves them money,
but makes them more eco-friendly as well. How? Well, let's take a look
and see.

Fewer Carbon Emissions

According to one study,
a conference can be responsible for creating more than a ton of carbon
dioxide per attendee. How? Between the fossil fuel used to fly the plane
that brought the attendee, the fossil fuel used for the attendee to get
to and from the airport and around town, and the fossil fuel used to
create the electricity for the attendee's hotel room - let's just say it
all adds up quickly. Obviously, with a video conference, the need for
so much travel is eliminated. The result? The meeting's footprint begins
to shrink.

Less Waste for the Landfill

According to some statistics,
the paper making industry around the world uses about 4 billion trees
each year with every person in the United States using 749 lbs of it. A
lot of that paper eventually winds up in landfills. Traditional
conferences are often a part of that scene. Papers get printed and used
for a bit and then get thrown away at the end or when the attendee gets
home. A video conference eliminates some of those paper needs, meaning
less trash for the landfill and a need for a few less trees to be cut.
The result? The meeting's footprint shrinks even more.

More Involvement with Green

Eco-friendly factors like fewer carbon emissions and less waste may
be the biggest and most direct green advantages to video conferencing,
but they aren't the only ones. Less travel and fewer printouts also mean
less money being spent overall on the conference. How is that green?
Well, less money spent on a conference means more money available for making the company greener.
Efforts here could offset the conference's remaining footprint even
more. The result? A footprint that so small, you might need a magnifying
glass to see it.

Video conferencing has
many benefits, not the least of which is economical. As travel costs
rise and travel budgets tighten, many in business have moved toward
online, real-time communication tools. According to The Business of Federal Technology,
it appears that the U.S. government may be following suit. This July,
the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation that would
potentially cut $15 billion in travel expenses incurred annually by
federal agencies through the increased use of videoconferencing.

The bill, titled "Cut the Waste, Stay in Place Act of 2013," and
introduced by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick, (R-Pa.), would call on the
director of the Office of Management and Budget to develop a plan to
reduce the federal government’s travel expenditures by as much as 50
percent by 2017.

Specifically, the bill calls on the use of video conferencing to
achieve a significant budget cut. Writers of the bill claim the
following three benefits to adopting this new measure:

Video conferencing has been under-utilized thus far, and therefore its full potential has not been completely realized.

The move from hardware-based software to browser-based software
makes video conferencing technology less expensive and more accessible
to more parties.

This new bill builds on previous orders issued via the Telework
Enhancement Act of 2010, which already calls for agencies to reduce
travel expenditures by 30 percent compared to 2010 levels. Under the
umbrella of previous initiatives, many agencies have already made
motions toward collaborative technology.

NASA is one such agency. It saved $21 million in fiscal 2012 by
replacing travel with video conferencing when it was possible. The Naval
Safety & Environmental Training Center has successfully used video
conferencing for better training programs--providing video-based
education to over 10,000 government civilians and Navy personnel all
over the world. The Center also adapted its mission-critical U.S. Navy
Safety Professional Development, replacing its San Diego conference with
a video broadcast. This adaptation reduced a potential $1.5 million
travel tab to less than $100,000.

The budget saving advantages of video conferencing are undeniable,
and the U.S. government agrees. Real-time communication benefits are
realized while maintaining a responsible hold on expenditures.